How to Uncover What Will be Most Fulfilling in Your Next Chapter

By Caroline Hall, Sabrina Roblin, and Katherine Olivetti

10,000 American Baby Boomers are retiring every day and, as the first generation to enjoy such an extended and robust longevity, they’re approaching retirement differently than in the past. With 20+ years of relatively healthy and able time left, Boomers aren’t settling for the golf course and crafting anymore. Now more and more are realizing they get quality time in their second act so they’re dusting off old dreams, trying new things, and aiming to leave a real legacy.

But without much in the way of role models to emulate, how can retiring Boomers find what will give them meaning for their next chapter?

Here is an exercise we created at Life Reinspired:

Reconnection Rubric:

1. Take some time to reflect on your life in ten-year increments, taking notes during this process.
2. For each decade, capture what your accomplishments were, what made you happy, who the special people were who touched your life and made it better, what challenges you confronted and how you overcame them.
3. Include the personal character qualities, talents and skills that you drew upon and strengthened.
4. What life dreams did you have at each stage and did you accomplish them?
5. Now step back and review your work.

•       What were the threads that weaved through all of it?
•       What life dreams are still in your heart that haven’t yet been manifested?
•       What surprised you?
•       What are the character qualities, gifts and talents that will support you in this next chapter?

6. Choose one aspect of this exercise that has most surprised and delighted you about yourself and your life, and follow that to see where it leads. For example, for one of the coaches who created the Reconnection Rubric, music was a thread throughout her whole life. So Sabrina Roblin found a singing teacher, picked up her guitar and started songwriting again. What’s your version of this?

Caroline Hall, Sabrina Roblin, and Katherine Olivetti, are co-founders of Life Reinspired.

Psychologist Carl Jung asserted that during the first half of life, human beings focus on developing a healthy ego to forge identity, achieve mastery, and meet the challenges of life. In later years, the focus shifts to manifesting the undeveloped aspects of the self — parts that may have been sacrificed to meet earlier demands. Tapping into this potential has a potent impact; for many, it is the gateway to deep, spiritually satisfying experience.

The founders of Life Reinspired passionately believe that using our gifts fully creates ongoing health and well-being for us as individuals, while it also has an impact on our community and world.